Member Spotlight

AD Martin Lumber Company – Nearing 70 Years of Service to Fremont County

 

                  As 2022 begins, the Riverton Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce their

first Business of the Month honoree, the AD Martin Lumber Company, doing

business on Riverton’s West Main Street since 1954.

                  The story begins with the arrival of Mr. AD Martin to Fremont County in the mid-

1920’s, then opening a long running and successful business in Lander. As the 50’s

dawned, he was winding down his career in the horse drawn implement sector,

and was looking forward to retirement. Not long after stepping down, he became

unhappy with the slow pace of his many days off. Then, after hearing about the

forthcoming sale of another lumber company in Riverton, AD made his move and

purchased the business on West Main without telling a soul. Next day, he phoned

his two sons, Davis and Jack, urging them to quit their current jobs and come to

work for him, back in their home town of Riverton Wyoming. Thus began the long

history of the AD Martin Lumber Company – the origins of a family business that

has been passed down through the generations and now sits on four sites in

Riverton, Dubois and Laramie.

Davis and Jack would run the company for many years before turning it over to

their respective sons, Mike and Joe. For many years, AD Martin Lumber rode the

wave of prosperity that swept though Fremont County during the uranium and oil

booms, growing along the way. In 1993, Mike bought out Joe’s share of the

organization. During this time, Mike and Kate’s family was growing and when

their son John reached the age of twelve, he began his involvement in the

company’s truss plant, located near Central Wyoming Airport. After high school,

John would leave for college in Laramie, a time he recalls fondly. Then, as

graduation neared, he received a phone call from his father, inviting him to return

home and join the family business. John talks about arriving at a point, 10 years

later, where he was ready to take the helm and Mike was ready to slow down and

enjoy spending more time with family and his many interests. So in November of

2013, John Martin was officially installed as owner and general manager of the AD

Martin Lumber Company, the position that he holds to this day.

If you’re at the AD Martin yard, don’t be surprised to see Mike - he comes around

almost daily, because as John likes to say, he enjoys the free coffee and touching

base with old friends that have been doing business there for a very long time.

Most recently, John opened the newest AD Martin Lumber location in Laramie

and tells us that is doing very well. The truss plant recently expanded and,

according to John, sells product to builders all across the Cowboy State. A true

family business going all the way back to 1954, continuing to build on the

strength of their long standing commitment to customer service and providing

the very best in building materials to contractors and home owners across the

area – AD Martin Lumber.